In the construction of buildings, scaffolding is used to provide elevated work places for the workers participating in construction and particularly for workers laying bricks or blocks or installing siding on the exteriors of buildings being constructed or repaired. Scaffolding structures consist of scaffold frames (sometimes termed “trestle frames” and which include ladder frames and walk through frames), cross braces which create bracing between pairs of scaffold frames, and locking pins and other hardware used in assembly of scaffolding. Scaffolding is assembled by manual means, with workers moving the scaffold frames into place and installing cross braces between opposing frames. The scaffold frames, cross braces and assembly hardware must be moved into position for assembly and then removed after use. Then the scaffold elements must be stored or moved to the next worksite as needed.
Customary handling of scaffold members entails stacking scaffold frames on a trailer and then tying the frames to the trailer so they may be transported. When the scaffold frames are to be used, they must be lifted off the trailer, placed in an upright orientation and carried to the location where needed.
Past efforts to store scaffold frames have included devices shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,952,114 and 5,018,629. In U.S. Pat. No. 4,952,114, a container for scaffold frames requires that the scaffold frames be carefully placed upright within bracket elements, resulting in spaces between adjoining frames. In the case of the device described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,018,629, the scaffold frames must be placed in horizontal orientation and inserted into the container. When scaffolding is to be assembled, the scaffold frames must be lifted from the container and raised to an upright position before they are carried to the site for assembly.
No scaffolding container is known which allows a worker to be elevated safely along with stored scaffold frames and cross braces to the assembly level where the scaffold members are needed.